A Soldier's Girl
by wdstcksfallnangl88
Summary: When Don's announcement ssends a shock to Stella, will she be able to tell him her feelings before he's gone. rated t for language
1. Chapter 1

**-Disclaimer; I do not own any of the csi ny characters if I did Stella would still be here and would be with either Flack or Mac. **

**Also note that this is my first csi ny story so I'm sorry if its not perfect or if you don't like the character couple. But its all mine.**

**ENJOY!**

Stella sat on her sofa, twirling a glass of whiskey.

She had never been much of a drinker. In her foster life she had quickly learned that alcohol could change a good man into a child beater and a all around bastard.

However, after the hell this week had been on her emotions whiskey seemed the only cure.

It had started out bad to begin with. She and Mac had worked on a case of a little girl found in a trash pile at one of the City Dump sites. When they finally were able to get some DNA results it came up that she had been a foster child.

Stella, of course, was hit hard. She felt that she identified too much with the victim and had stayed up almost every night trying to catch the killer.

When they did, the results were worse though, for her, not at all surprising. It had been her foster brother.

The flashbacks of life in foster homes and the thoughts that she could have been in this little victim's shoes had caused nightmares like crazy. But as usual, she worked her way through it and handled it as best she could.

However, the worst part had come two days prior when Don Flack Jr. had announced that he would be heading overseas as a Marine.

That information had left everyone painfully silent but it had forced Stella to claim a day of vacation so that she wouldn't have a painfully public break down right there in the lab.

Stella wasn't sure when she had begun to feel for the young detective but it was after the explosion that had left him with a sliced artery in the stomach that she realized just how hard she had fallen for him.

Taking a swig of the whiskey in her shot glass, Stella got up and turned on some classical music. It was a love of hers that she didn't share with anyone. The only one who knew was Flack actually and he had only found out because he had visited her suddenly after the Frankie incident.

Smiling at the memory of them discussing music tastes while she packed her stuff for the move Stella sat back down and sipped again from the fiery drink.

Looking at the digital clock on her phone, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, debating with herself. The gang were holding a going away party for Don at Lindsay and Don's place and while Stella knew she should go, she was afraid that the moment she saw him in his uniform, she just might do something crazy.

He didn't know of her feelings and while every fiber of her being screamed at her to go tell him before he gets himself killed, fear was holding her back.

The rational side of her was reminding her that Don was nothing like her last two boyfriends. That he would never hurt her like they had. But the silly side was reminding her that he was still a man and there was no telling what would happen to him when he came home.

PTSD did funny things to a soldier and she had worked several cases where it had caused death and eventual insanity in the soldier.

Shaking her head she let the ration side win, the PTSD thing was a stretch anyway. Really it was just an excuse for her fear of anything new, especially love.

Swirling the amber liquid in her glass, she suddenly came to a decision and, after setting her alarm she headed to bed. She would have to be up early and she would be damned if she didn't see him one time last time before he shipped out for God knew how many years due to her over sleeping.

Sending up a prayer to which ever god would listen she shut of her lights and fell into a dream of soldiers and curly haired, blue-eyed children.

By 7:30, she was standing at the air strip waiting for him to say his last goodbyes. Mac and Danny were already there with coffee and would be waiting as representatives of the whole unit since the others had to either work or deal with a new baby.

Don, looking absolutely breathe taking in his uniform, was saying goodbye to his parents and little sister Sam.

For Stella, it was a touching moment that she both loved and was envious of. A part of her wished she had parents who would have seen her off like that, with tears and smiles.

Feeling her own tears begin she turned away and ran to the little room where the vending machine was, telling Mac that she was just going to get something to snack on .

As the vending machine began to work, she leaned her forehead on the cool glass and let the tears fall, praying that he would return to them, to her safely, and clinging to the hope that he would come home soon.

Shaking that negative thought away she leaned down and grabbed her skittles before turning toward the door.

Imagine her surprise when instead of the door, she crashed into a strong chest, and then a hug, that she would remember all her life.

"Hey Stell, I thought you were coming to give this soldier a hug before he went of to play hero."

Despite the tears, she laughed and hugged him.

"Well, soldier boy, playing hero will get you lots of hugs from prettier girls than me, but I'll give ya one anyway, plus extra."

Leaning up she kissed him on the cheek then wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing them into a tight hug. As they held each other, Stella closed her eyes and breathed him in, letting his cologne imprint itself in her mind and in her heart.

At the sound of the whistle, the tears began again. It was time for him to leave her. Sighing she stepped back and touched his cheek with her hand.

"Well Soldier Boy, its time for you to begin your hero stage."

Don smiled a little before taking her hand from his cheek and pulling her out onto the air strip, dropping her hand as soon as they saw the others. Stella instantly missed its warmth but smiled and went to stand next to Mac, waving good bye to the soldier that held her heart in his rough hands.

As he turned his back to them in line to get on the air plane though, something hit her like a brick. She had to tell him she loved him.

Before she knew it her feet were moving and though she heard shouts of warning from Mac and probably from the airport people she couldn't stop, her eyes were on one person.

"Don!"

He instantly turned to the sound and within seconds, she had flung her self into his arms and planted her lips on his in a rough but passionate kiss.

However, after ten seconds without a response from him, she pulled back and dropped her head.

'Figured. Shouldn't have got my hopes up.'

Gathering her pride, she looked up at his surprised face and smiled.

"Figured you wouldn't be getting a kiss from a woman who loves you anytime soon so I volunteered myself. Come home, Don. Soon."

With that she spun on her heel and jogged back to her car, glancing back only once to see his fellow soldiers pushing him through the airplane door.

Quickly drying her tears she climbed into her car and drove home. Whiskey and Beethoven were calling to her.

Smiling a little, she sent another prayer of safe keeping to the gods and just kept her life going the way it always would. Solving cases and dealing with urequited feelings for a certain detective turned soldier.


	2. Chapter 2

**-Disclaimer; I do not own any of the csi ny characters if I did Stella would still be here and would be with either Flack or Mac. **

**Also note that this is my first csi ny story so I'm sorry if its not perfect or if you don't like the character couple. But its all mine.**

**ENJOY!**

It had been three years since that fateful morning and Stella had never forgotten even a minute of it.

When she had gone back to work the next morning, she was greeted by a knowing Lindsay and was instantly pulled into the empty crime lab break room.

It had surprisingly been a huge relief to spill her guts to the younger woman and to just cry on her shoulder.

It brought the two of them closer since Lindsay had been through similar circumstances with Danny. Their friendship and babysitting Lucy had been a healing balm to her healing heart.

However, she still dreamed of his startling blue eyes and their imaginary children when she went to bed at night.

But time had to march on and suddenly it, and fate, dropped another bomb into her life.

Last week she had received a job offer from New Orleans Crime Lab and, after talking it over with Mac and Lindsay, she had decided to take it. It meant a better opportunity, more money and, most importantly, a ticket out of the place that reminded her of the blue eyes and deep voice she loved so much.

Sighing, she picked up her box of stuff from the office and headed out, turning for one last glance at the office that had been her home away from home for nearly 12 years.

She would miss this place, these people, so much but she needed to do this.

Smiling to herself she locked the door and place the keys into Mac's office mail box, heading home for the last time.

Tomorrow morning, Mac would take her to the air port and she would begin a new adventure.

Grabbing a cab, she watched the city that had changed so much of her life as it changed itself pass her by and tears began forming again.

'Now you're just being silly, you'll be coming back for the holidays. You won't be gone forever'

Still, she watched and cried. She really would miss this place.

After stopping at Ground Zero to bid goodbye to it, Stella finally opened the door to her dark apartment and set her box on the last piece of furniture she had, her couch.

The electricity had already been shut off, not that she was complaining. Candles helped calm her down despite the fact that she had lost her last apartment to flames.

Pulling a box of matches out of her work box she searched for the candle she kept beside her doo, cursing when she was reminded that she was supposed to have replaced it since it had melted down.

Cursing again as she stubbed her toe on the couch leg, she felt her way to the boxes she had lined up, searching hard for a extra candle or flashlight.

"Scuse me ma'am, this watcha lookin for?"

Stella froze at that voice, it had aged a bit but it was still deep and sexy as hell.

Afraid that it was just her imagination acting up again, she closed her eyes and walked toward to direction she heard it from.

The smell of his cologne wafted to her and she couldn't stop the tears that began to fall.

"I'm not imagining this, am I?"

A familiar chuckle came from two inches in front of her and tears came harder.

"No way, Stell. This soldier kept his promise. I came home."

Stella opened her eyes and, even in the dark, those blue eyes looked right at her.

Before she could stop them, her legs went out. Instantly she found herself in the embrace that she had missed so much.

"Hey, sweetheart, I didn't think I'd have to be your hero this quickly."

Only he could make her laugh despite the tears and rampaging emotions she was feeling right now. Clinging to him, she looked up to meet his suddenly serious eyes.

"I'm just so glad you're home, I got to see you again before…"

At the feel of his warm fingers against her lips, she looked up in startled curiosity, only to gasp at the intensity those blue eyes were emitting.

"I know and I hate to tell you ma'am but you're not going anywhere. As soon as I came home last night, Mac told me. I can't let you go, Stell. I gotta give you something."

Opening her mouth to ask what he was going to give her, she gasped as she felt that hot mouth of his take hers in a sizzling kiss. Tears began again as she brought her arms around his neck, putting all her feelings into the kiss.

For his part, Don grinned and tightened his hold on her. He had been wanting to do this for three years, maybe even before that.

It just took her kiss to make him think about it. That kiss had been a revelation for him in so many ways and when he had finally been able to come home he was planning on showing her just how much he had missed her, how much he loved her.

Needless to say it had been a shock to him when Mac had met him at his parents home and told him that she would be leaving in less than 24 hours. He had come to her apartment immediately and he was so glad he had.

Stella's mind had blanked out as soon as he had started kissing her. Eventually, the need for air forced them to break apart but Flack just leaned his forehead on hers and cupped her face with both hands as she let her fingers run through the very short hair at the base of his neck.

"Stella Bonasera, you have no idea what you do to me. Its been pure hell knowing that I had to leave things the way they were when I left. I've also had to realize the hard way how much I seriously need you in my life."

Stella smiled and placed a light kiss on his lips.

"Its been just as bad on my end, Don and I love you too. Actually I've loved you for close to six years now but patience was always a virtue of mine."

Flack just chuckled and kissed her again.

"I'm not going anywhere. My unit is home for good now and while I'm still on active duty I've taken a job as an MP. Will you stay here? Live with me?"

Blinking in surprise, Stella took a moment to take it all in.

"Are you asking me to move in with you, Soldier-boy?"

Kissing her again, Flack looked her in the eye and responded with a answer that blew her mind and melted her heart.

"I want so much more than that, Stell. I want to the whole package. I want to date you, love you, marry you and have children with you, just like I've dreamed about for three years. But I need you here with me to do all that."

Stella gave her brightest smile and hugged him, covering his face in kisses.

Don chuckled, "I guess that is a yes?"

Laughing Stella kissed him on the lips, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes to all of it!"

Pulling her up and twirling around, Don captured her lips in a passionate kiss, which she responded to with equal passion.

By the time they finally broke apart, Dan had her pressed up against the wall while she had wrapped her legs around his waist in a tight hold.

"So, Soldier Boy, you gonna show me what you can do in tight places?"

Kissing her again, Don looked at her and saluted a bit.

"Yes ma'am."


End file.
